Mars probe set for nail-biting touchdown

[Dover]

Mars probe set for nail-biting touchdown _________
21:27 13 May 2008
NewScientist.com news service
David Shiga

NASA's Phoenix spacecraft will experience a harrowing few minutes on 25 May when it hits Mars's atmosphere and attempts to land safely on the surface – without any airbags to cushion its fall.
Phoenix launched in August 2007 on a mission to Mars's icy north polar region. Changes in the Red Planet's tilt may have allowed the abundant ice there to melt as recently as 100,000 years ago, raising the tantalising possibility that microscopic life forms could once have eked out an existence in the region. Life might even be present there now in a dormant state.

The lander will dig down as much as 50 centimetres below the surface, collecting samples of soil and ice to better understand the region's past climate and check for carbon-containing molecules that could be associated with life.
But first, the spacecraft must make it to the surface in one piece...>


http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn13893-mars-probe-set-for-nailbiting-touchdown.html
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/13may_phoenix.htm

[chelsea0011]

1. Signs of past life forms on another world.

I wonder how much will change when that discovery happens on Mars or somehwere else.

[Phoonzang]

2. Why can't they directly search for PRESENT life?

Don't they have a variety of methods to do this? The Viking probes did in the 70s. Beagle 2 was going to do it. Why does NASA seem to be pussyfooting around the issue?

[briv1016]

4. They tried that with Vikings and found nothing.

That's why the U.S. didn't send a spacecraft to Mars for 20 years after that. The current theories are that in the past Mars was a warmer, wetter place and that it might have been able to sustain life. The hopes now are to find fossilized life on Mars.

[Greyskye]

3. Discovery ScienceHD channel will be covering this live Sunday

at 7 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. PT.

http://science.discovery.com/tv/phoenix-mars/about/about.html

Looking forward to watching this with my son. :D